Christmas in SoCal (store, swimming, areas)

[user_id]

Originally Posted by Narfcake

Daytime high - 35 degrees. I was fine with a sweatshirt and jeans.

If you're human then you wouldn't last long in -35 degrees with just a sweatshirt and jeans. People have varying levels of tolerance to the cold, but at the end of the day we are all warm blooded and the body can only produce so much heat.

[1200RT]

Originally Posted by EscapeCalifornia

Christmas isn't celebrated or even spoken of because it might offend someone. Happy Holidays!

This.

[proudmommy]

[mod cut: references to deleted posts]

I like the commercial aspect of the holiday season in Los Angeles. It takes away the religious aspect of christmas. It's good for business - especially in a down economy - my mutual funds will appreciate it.
I also like the "What am I getting for xmas?" message, me, me, me...

[uptown_urbanist]

To remind everyone, here was the original post:

Originally Posted by LAHopeful

Hey everyone,

I was just curious to see how Christmas and the whole season is celebrated down in SoCal. We just had a mini festival where they lit a large Christmas tree outside City Hall, they are currently icing a rink in the main park downtown. So yea, just wanted some insight so let me know how you guys do it down there?

Keep the religious debates elsewhere, please. This is the LA forum; stick to the topic.

[uptown_urbanist]

To the OP: when we lived in LA we loved the Christmas season, although it was admittedly very different than what I grew up with in the upper Midwest. LA still has plenty of decorations (including a big tree); I always liked watching the skaters downtown (Pershing Park had an outdoor seasonal skating rink), visiting Olvera Street (kind of touristy, but really fun, and they have a posada there). Tamales seemed to be a big deal, even among those with no hispanic heritage, which I also enjoyed. There's a lot of special events, so while there might not be snow, there's still plenty to do. It can also sometimes be cold; not down jacket cold, but heavy sweater cold. And then immediately post-Christmas the count-down is really on for the Rose Parade (and bowl, and associated activities), which is fun. We also went to the Hollywood Christmas Parade several years running while we lived in Hollywood; that was supposedly the parade that inspired Gene Autry to write the song "Here Comes Santa Claus," so it definitely has its share of both local and national Christmas history.

In short, there might not be the stereotypical sleigh rides and snow falling, but many "traditional" elements remain the same, right down to the outdoor skating rinks. LA's outdoor rinks just depend on a little technology to keep them chilled.

[Narfcake]

Originally Posted by user_id

If you're human then you wouldn't last long in -35 degrees with just a sweatshirt and jeans.

You're right, but that wasn't negative sign - it's a dash. Buffalo gets cold, but typically not that cold, even at night. We're talking NY, not ND.

https://www.city-data.com/city/Buffalo-New-York.html

Back to the topic ...

Originally Posted by EscapeCalifornia

Christmas isn't celebrated or even spoken of because it might offend someone. Happy Holidays!

Blame the lawyers on this one. Is that a Christmas tree? Nope - it's a "community tree". Schools ... nowadays, it's all sanitized and everything is referenced with generic terms. Kinda makes you think what ever happened teaching diversity.

[stevebri]

Originally Posted by proudmommy

People are programmed to to think christmas is some sort of snowy, cold, sleigh bells type holiday so they do things like spray fake snow on their trees and white fake snow paint on their windowsills to pretend like they are back east "where people really know how to celebrate the holidays".
Also, kids are marketed to as if it is cold outside so kids want all these stay inside toys like video games and such. In reality, kids in CA play outside because they aren't stuck inside like the marketers on Madison avenue in new york.
Still, women will break out their fashionable cold weather coats and boots and wear them when the temps fall below 65F - as if they lived in the midwest or east coast. It's a crack up seeing them walking around town dressed for the arctic when the guy right next to them is in shorts - in December.
Finally, there's always decent chance we'll have a Santa Ana Winds event and it will be 88F yet grandma will insist we light a fire in the fireplace because that's what you're supposed to do on christmas - after all, that's what the people back east do.

I'll tell you what we are doing, we are shoveling that awful whitestuff that slowly turns to grey and black stuff that gets piled into huge mounds of dirty snow that requires 60 degree days for two days straight to freaking melt. Snow is fun for two hours. After that you realize your feet are wet, you are cold and your coat is soaked because you were outside shoveling in the snowstorm (so it doesn't get too much to shovel later) and sweated to much on the inside and got too wet on the outside. And lucky you you get to do it all over again in a few hours because the snow isn't predicted to stop until morning.

I've often wondered what it must feel like to go through the winter and not have to worry about snow. Especially dirty snow. I intend to find out someday. My ideal christmas would be 75 and sunny.

[readymade]

Originally Posted by stevebri

I'll tell you what we are doing, we are shoveling that awful whitestuff that slowly turns to grey and black stuff that gets piled into huge mounds of dirty snow that requires 60 degree days for two days straight to freaking melt. Snow is fun for two hours. After that you realize your feet are wet, you are cold and your coat is soaked because you were outside shoveling in the snowstorm (so it doesn't get too much to shovel later) and sweated to much on the inside and got too wet on the outside. And lucky you you get to do it all over again in a few hours because the snow isn't predicted to stop until morning.

I've often wondered what it must feel like to go through the winter and not have to worry about snow. Especially dirty snow. I intend to find out someday. My ideal christmas would be 75 and sunny.

This was very very well written and describes the east coast winter experience perfectly. I read it out loud to my husband and he started shivering and looking horrified. Post traumatic stress, heh.

We are both very very grateful to be in LA.

[Fontucky]

Originally Posted by LAHopeful

So yea, just wanted some insight so let me know how you guys do it down there?

I do everything I can to avoid participating in it.

[LAHopeful]

Originally Posted by user_id

If you're human then you wouldn't last long in -35 degrees with just a sweatshirt and jeans. People have varying levels of tolerance to the cold, but at the end of the day we are all warm blooded and the body can only produce so much heat.

Here, we go skinny dipping on january first to bring in the new year in below freezing water at lake ontario.